Collapsible boat



March l1, 1952 R. JARVI COLLAPSIBLE BOAT 3 Sheetsheet l Filed NOV. 5, 1950 R, w n o x w# H l|||,HH|..,IIIl||W/ wJ/M/ Il .lllllflllfhlllll M W M .am .HMHMHHHHIIMHHIII1- E on March l, 1952 R. JARVI coLLAPsBLE BOAT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 5, 1950 March 11, 1952 R. JARVI 2,589,987

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Filed Nov. 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Shee 3 Patented Mar. 11, 1952 Reino Jarvi, Toronto, Ontario, `Canada Application November 3, 1950, Serial No. 193,853

In `Canada April'ZZ, 1950 l3 Claims. (Cl. 9 2) My invention relates to improvements in collapsible boats of the open type such as for example a row boat or the like. The aim of the invention is to provide a boat which is light in weight and which can be readily collapsed for packaging into a comparatively small bundle for transportation on land.

A further aim or the invention is to provide a boat of this character comprising a hull in which there is a flexible covering mounted on a rigid frame and fastened by means of a draw cord extending through marginal loops at the opening in the boat and connected by exible straps to the bowed end of the keel member. The thwarts and Vthe struts are detachably pinned to the ribsand the connection is maintained by flexible straps which permit the assembly to be dismantled for collapsing the frame.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanyl ing drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a boat constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the frame of the boat.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 5 is a cross section of the frame taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail of the frame showing how ribs at opposite sides of the keel member are hinged together in pairs and detachably connected to the bow portions of said keel member.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line l--l of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the hinged construction of the lateral ribs.

Fig. 11 shows the manner in which a pair of lateral ribs are folded when the frame has beenv dismantled.

Fig. 12 is a side view of a bow portion of the keel member.

'ber |5- of a shape conforming to that of said- The frame includes longitudinal .ribsA v have their ends detachably connected to the frame and placed thereon with the marginal extents of its opening substantially coinciding with the opening at the top of the frame. Said cover is provided with a continuous loop |6 at the margin of its opening and in this loop there is a draw cord l1 having ends I8 (Fig. 1) extending through a cut-away portion I5 whereby the cord lcan be drawn taut to fasten the cover on said frame. By unfastening the draw cord the opening inthe cover can be enlarged to allow the cover 'to be vremoved from the frame.

The frame comprises spaced longitudinal ribs including a keel rib and lateral ribs. Said keel rib, denoted at I9, has bowed ends 2li. Said lateral ribs are inbowed members and their ends 2| meet the respective bowed ends 2 oi the keel rib, as is-best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The lateral ribs are arranged in pairs and the ribs of each pair are disposed at opposite sides of the keel rib. There maybe any number of pairs of ribs, but in the present disclosure there is a top pair 22, an intermediate pair 23 and a lower pair 24, each pair being bowed through their extents to produce the desiredY contour for the shape of the boat.

All the ribs are made up of sections so that they may be collapsed inwardly as by joints. In the vpresent instance there are three such sections to each rib, as clearly shown in Fig. 10. Adjacent sections of the several ribs are united by hinged joints each comprising apliant plate 25 of rubberized fabric or other approved material disposed at the outer side of the sections and fastened tothe adjoining ends as by rivets. The adjoining ends have abutment faces 23 by which relative inward movement of the sections is prohibited. Therefore the adjacent sections are confined to a relative outward movement by means of the hinged joint. The location of the joints cf the several ribs respectively coincide with regard to the length of the frame, and means are provided to prevent the articulated ribs from collapsing inwardly in the assembled condition of the frame. Said means will be dealt with later on.

Thev inwardly-curved corresponding ends 2| of each pair of lateral ribs are united by a hinged joint comprising a pliant plate 21 of rubberized fabric or the like which is riveted or otherwise fastened to the inner sides thereof and spaced a short distance from the termini 28-see Figs. 6, 10V and ll in particular. The pliant plate is connected by means of its ends. Its intermediate portion 29 freely extends transversely to space the termini 28 in order that the end parts 2| forwardly of the hinge plate may grip the corresponding bowed end of the keel rib. Said end parts are engaged in notches 30 formed in 0pposite sides of the bowed end and the intermediate portion 29 is engaged with the inner face 3| (Figs. 12 and 13) of the bowed end. This arrangement locks said end parts of the sections 2| in the respective notches and thus rmly secures the pair of ribs to the bowed end in a releasable manner. Disengagement is accomplished by collapsing the pair of ribs by means of the hinged joints 25. Conversely, re-engagement is effected by placing the adjacent end parts of sections 2| in the corresponding bowed end of the keel rib and spreading the ribs.

The means for preventing the ribs from collapsing comprise the thwarts 32 which extend transversely between the intermediate ribs 23. In the present instance there are two of the seatforming members 32 each of which is located at the hinged joints of the ribs. The thwarts are of identical construction and each consists of a rigid member for seating an occupant. The ends of the member are provided with projecting pins 33 loosely engaged in holes provided in the ribs 23. The pins and the holes supply a detachable connection which enables the thwarts to be removed by pulling the ribs outwardly at the thwart to permit withdrawal of the pins 33.

Struts 34 and 34 are pivotally attached, as at 35, to the bottom of the thwart to swing laterally ofthe keel. The struts have lower ends from each of which projects a pin, as at 36. The medial strut 34 has its lower end in abutment with the keel rib I9 and the pin thereof is engaged loosely in a hole in this rib. The remaining struts 34 have their lower ends in abutting engagement with the respective ribs 24 and are provided with projecting pins 31 loosely engaged in holes supplied in these ribs. Similarly there is an arrangement of struts 38 at the top of the thwart which are pivoted thereto, as at 39. These struts extend upwardly and have pins 40 at their upper ends loosely engaged in holes in the respective upper ribs 22. The struts 38 maintain the ribs 22 in spaced relation to the ribs 23. To detach these struts from the ribs it is only necessary to force the ribs 22 upwardly to allow the pins 40 to be withdrawn from the engaged holes.

In the assembled condition of the frame the pinned connections of the struts are locked by means of flexible straps 4|. The straps have ends 42 permanently secured to the keel rib I9 at opposite sides thereof as by means of an apertured plate 43. The straps extend through openings 44 in the ribs 24 and are provided with holes in which the pins 31 of the ribs 34 are lodged, as best shown in Fig. '1. Said straps are also passed through holes 60 (Fig. 14) in the thwart and are then passed upwardly through apertures 45 in the marginal loops |6 of the cover |5 to engage over the draw cord I1. The free ends 46 of the straps are fastened to the thwart as by means of short straps 41 provided with buckles 48.

The invention provides a sturdy and serviceable boat which is light in weight. It can be quickly collapsed and made up into a bundle for the purpose of conveniently transporting it to and from water. To disassemble the boat the slip cover is iirst removed by untying and loosening the draw cord. The straps 4| are then unbuckled from the connecting straps 41 which permits the ribs 22 to be disengaged from the struts 38. These struts can now be swung down against the top side-of the thwarts and the ribs 22 can be collapsed and detached from the keel rib. Now the thwarts can be disconnected from the ribs 23 and removed, which disengages the struts 34 and 34' from the ribs I9 and 24. The ribs 23 and 24 can now be collapsed and detached from the keel rib I9. Following the detachment of the ribs they can be folded as shown in Fig. 11 and made up into a comparatively small bundle along with the thwarts, struts and slip cover.

It should be here mentioned that the boat is provided with a floor board; this per se does not involve invention. The oor board is not shown in the drawings. It is detachable and may be devised to fold into small compass when not in use. The folding is carried out by an arrangement of hinged sections.

What I claim is:

1. In a collapsible boat, a frame comprising a keel rib having bowed ends, a plurality of lateral ribs extending longitudinally thereof. said lateral ribs being arranged in pairs and the ribs of each pair being disposed at opposite sides of said keel rib, the ends of said lateral ribs being disposed to meet the respective bowed ends of said keel rib, means detachably connecting the ends of the lateral ribs to said bowed ends of the keel rib, a thwart extending between a pair of said lateral ribs, means detachably connecting said thwart to said last-mentioned pair of lateral ribs, struts Divoted to said thwart, means providing intertting connections between said struts and the remaining ribs and means for retaining said interfitting connections including a flexible strap engaged with said remaining ribs and said thwart, and means for disengaging said strap.

2. A structure as dened in claim 1 including means to releasably connect said strap to said ribs and said means for disengaging said strap including a buckle.

3. In a collapsible boat, a frame comprising a keel rib having sections hinged together for collapsing inwardly and having bowed ends, a p1urality of lateral ribs extending longitudinally thereof and having sections hinged together for collapsing inwardly, said lateral ribs being arranged in pairs and the ribs of each pair being disposed at opposite sides of said keel rib, the ends of said lateral ribs being disposed to meet the respective bowed ends of said keel rib, means detachably connecting the ends of the lateral ribs to said bowed ends of the keel rib, a thwart extending between a pair of said lateral ribs at the hinged juncture of the section thereof, means detachably connecting said thwart to said last mentioned pair of lateral ribs and retaining them against collapsing, and releasable means connecting the remaining ribs to said thwart and retaining these ribs against, collapsing.

REINO J ARVI.

REFEREN CES CITED The following references are of record in the l'e of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,289,906 Presament et al. Dec. 31, 1918 1,573,958 Whall Feb. 23, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,264 Great Britain of 1893 5,934 Great Britain of 1886 15,650 Great Britain of 1903 

